Plus you can not forget the millions of dollars that they spend on lobbying in Washington getting more incentives from the tax payer.

Since 2001, energy corporations have showered federal politicians with $115 million in campaign contributions—with three-quarters of that amount
going to Republicans. This cash helped secure energy companies and their lobbyists exclusive, private access to lawmakers, starting with
Vice-President Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force, whose report provided the foundation of the energy bill passed by Congress and signed by President
Bush on August 8.

Do you guys actually think that the main stream media is acting for the benefit of the well-informed American by playing on the emotions concerning
high oil company profits?

This is the same media that drummed up the war in Iraq, the same media that hyped up the housing bubble, the same media that hyped up the dot-coms.
These guys (and their owners) are playing on our emotions so that slapping fat taxes on oil companies would be politically inevitable.

For all you railing against these oil companies, lets take a deep breath and properly focus our anger.

Notice from Sublime's posted spreadsheets who is making the biggest windfall of them all. The government.

The government is the one making the fattest profit. Yea our fearless government that started this oil price increase by screwing over our dollar and
by stomping around the middle-east.

What is worse is that the oil companies don't actually pay the taxes charged by the government. YOU DO!! Higher gas prices, less employment, moving
jobs offshore, are some of the ways that oil companies (and any company) passes on the costs of taxation.

Not only does the government tax your income, they tax you through higher prices at the pump. Why does congress get to whine about oil company profits
and at the same time their members own (or are owned by) oil stocks? They know that the oil companies aren't really paying for any taxes and they
know that applying taxes to oil companies is politically easy. We are being suckered on a magnitude that boggles the mind.

The government is making windfalls every way to Saturday by this oil situation mainly created by the government itself. Why the hell am I only getting
a $600 rebate anyways?

So when you fill up at the pump, think of all the government programs and international endeavors that you are paying for.

One way for sure to make a profit is to sell more oxy-Fuel. (oxygenated unleaded fuel(RFG) Where I live all the stations start selling oxy-fuel
around October then are suppose to switch back to the standard fuel in February .This is for environmental standards imposed by the EPA and the city
in which I live. I never fill up oxy fuel because you lose about 2 miles per gallon no matter what kind of vehicle you have. You also have to take
into account that epa sticker was tested with the standard fuel not oxy-fuel (RFG )
Well there still selling oxy- fuel where I live, and it’s going to be May this week. All the stations were suppose to stop selling oxy-fuel in
February. So I asked a few station managers why they are still selling it. My reply from every manager and these stations was. “ The Company
that supplies us has requested that we continue selling Oxy-Fuel , So we are” that is what every manager told me to the letter, like a pre-written
script . I smell a Rat , I could not believe I received the same answer from 5 gas stations managers what is going on here? So they all get the
same fuel from the same refinery that’s obvious. Chevron was selling oxy- fuel last week, then this week I went to this same Chevron and
asked if they were selling the standard fuel yet ? I was told “yes” by the attendant, and he also mentioned that the manager removed the oxy-
fuel stickers from the pumps after closing last night”. which I noticed. So I figure I’ll come back tomorrow and fill up since I only live 2
miles away. Well the next day I went to fill up and the gas station attendant came over and told me that there is only oxy-fuel . I asked him when was
the last time the station tanks were filled. He replied “ Just this morning , all the tanks are filled with oxy-fuel.
You guys see my point here. The manager removed the stickers from the pumps like there suppose to when the oxy- fuel is no longer being sold. But in
this case there still selling oxy-fuel with the oxy fuel stickers removed. You think your getting the standard 87 unleaded grade but you’re not ,
you’re getting a fuel that that will give 2-miles less per gallon. So I closed the cap thanked him for the warning and proceed out of town once
again to get the standard grade stuff. Also I have read reports that states oxy- fuel is more expensive to make and refine. My guess after this is
No , No way…. No how.. If it was ; then why are the suppliers still dumping this oxy- fuel ? And yet ask stations to still sell it.

Wait. The oil prizes are rising, because officially everything became more expensive for the oil companies. In this case, it's impossible to achieve
profit, especially high profit, like this one. So, as I see the Governments, whose are in the oil business are lied again. There is nothing wrong at
all. They risen the prizes on why not bases and figure out a cover story for it.

Oh, so proud I am of my country and its biggest cooperation that was founded over imperialism and opression. Making insane profits while people are
starving.
And today it is "queensday" here in Holland, were all the happy and proud Dutchmen celebrate our great queen's birthday.
Our great Royal Familly that has had blood on their hands for centuries, that likes to take in Nazis into the family, and start nice social clubs for
the rich and powerfull, in hotel "Bilderberg".
I used to be proud to be Dutch, right now, I see nothing to be proud off. I am filled with digust, more and more every day.

Originally posted by Sublime620
They have the oil, they're making the money.

However, if I had to start pointing fingers, I would begin with the environmental whack jobs who prevent us from harvesting the oil we have right here
in our own country.

Since I haven't read through the entire thread yet if this has already been covered, I apologize.

You say environmental whackjobs, but you failed to mention the the right wing controlled the White House, and both branches of congress for several
years, so they (republicans) should have been able to get the drilling going, not to mention the construction of new refineries. To me, the notion
that left wing whackjobs are responsible for the price of gas, is false, all of them have their fingers in the pot.

There is a thread here with video links to a guy named Lindsey Williams, whom claims that we can't drill in Alaska. If what he claims is true, we are
in deep doo doo. If you haven't seen the videos I recommend you take the hour and twenty minutes and do so. As I said, if his claims are true, things
are going to get a lot worse, before they get better, if they ever do.

While wutone is correct that the government is collecting a pretty fat check, that does not let anyone else off the hook.

I have clearly shown with Exxon's own financial statements that since prices have gone up, production costs have remained almost the same.

That is why even though prices have only doubled, NI has quadrupled.

I have shown they spend 4 times as much on making their earnings per share look better by buying back common stock than they do on "investing in
oil and equipment" (as so many claim they do). Also, they give out nice dividends. So any heavy stock holder is definitely reaping the
benefits.

So I just don't understand the argument on this thread. What exactly are we discussing here?

Gas prices go up = profits up.
these crooks must be stopped!
We need a hero because we arent standing up for ourselves fast enuff...

[edit on 4/29/2008 by theBLESSINGofVISION]

Gas prices being up does not result in profit, in fact refiners make more money when oil is falling because of supply line, and FILO (first in last
out). It's called a crack spread, please learn about how the industry works before contributing and spreading ignorance. We also don't know what
futures the company held, if they bought a futures contract to buy oil (assuming they couldn't meet refiner demand) for $80 and they are selling it
to refiners like Valero at $120 they are making the difference in profit....it only costs something like $5 to pump one barrel of oil...Shell sells it
at the market price which is dollar denominated and that at the NYMEX and ICE.

This seems to indicate that the real cause of the price jump is a function of speculating mechanics. So the actual cost to the consumer is driven by
how successfully THEY gamble. Again, making the issue of skyrocketing prices a direct correlation to profiteering. There is a missing element in the
equation though isn't there? Who 'determines' the price and is it based on anything 'real'? Or is it all 'too complex'?

"Hey I have some oil, wanna buy it?"
"Sure, how much?"

Ooooh, rocket science!

While the business practices may be accepted - that does not make them 'right.' In their defense, unless the whole issue of the human condition is
pointless and hardships don't matter squat as long a profit can be secured.

I must say that this has been one of the most informed post that has been read here lately. Picked up a lot of new knowledge and insight. Thats why I
like ATS and return as much as i do. This is better than main stream media.

This seems to indicate that the real cause of the price jump is a function of speculating mechanics. So the actual cost to the consumer is driven by
how successfully THEY gamble. Again, making the issue of skyrocketing prices a direct correlation to profiteering. There is a missing element in the
equation though isn't there? Who 'determines' the price and is it based on anything 'real'? Or is it all 'too complex'?

Maxmars raises some interesting questions. This will take a little research, but I think we should take a look at what the component costs of a barrel
of oil are, and of a gallon of gasoline.

There have been various theories put forth here as to what makes up the cost of fuel. They include

Pulling it out of the ground

Transporting the crude to the refineries

Transporting to the end consumer

Taxes.

Among this are the "nebulous" costs which are hard to put a finger on:

The competition in bidding between nations, esp. China, India, and the USA

Price and production controls by OPEC, etc.

The role of speculators and how they add to the bottom line cost.

Some of these costs are pretty well "fixed", after the infrastructure such as refineries are in place. But what the hell drives the cost of
oil up $25/barrel in the period of a few weeks?

So, ladies and germs, who are the real bandits here? And what percentage of the total price are they responsible for? Let's have some real numbers,
please.

Sorry to leave you hanging like that. Here's what I was referring to. I misspoke. They only pay about 41% in taxes. I was looking at this chart
incorrectly. This is in comparison to their profits. Not taxes on their profits.

Anyway, that's a lot of tax. The government makes nearly as much as they do on the oil.

(FORTUNE Magazine) - On a sunny May day in an office park in the Surrey countryside outside London, a Ferrari-driving hedge fund manager named Aref
Karim is scooping up contracts to buy oil in July for $75 a barrel, $3 more than it's currently selling for. His company, QCM, has garnered more than
$125 million in fresh cash since the beginning of the year, and he's itching to keep it at work.

A few hundred miles to the south in Paris, on the trading floor of Societe Generale Asset Management, Arnaud Chretien's team of Ph.D.s and engineers
operates in near silence, with powerful computers buying and selling commodities according to preset algorithms, taking advantage of swift movements
in everything from heating oil and gasoline to zinc and copper.

So why then is oil so expensive? While financial activity plays some role, there needn't be anything nefarious about the motivations of these market
participants, each of which is operating perfectly rationally.

The bigger answer to the oil price run-up seems to be the one nobody wants to accept: supply and demand. Because energy demand is so inelastic -
consumers don't quickly change their consumption habits when prices go up - and new supply takes so long to come online (Exxon's multibillion-dollar
Sakhalin-1 project took a decade to reach production), small changes can have an outsized impact on price, especially in a tight market. And that's
exactly what's happening now with oil.

This would indicate that nyk was on the money when he suggested that more drilling would have a beneficial effect.

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